


We're here together

by readergirl101



Series: Replaced [4]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Fusion, Homeworld is Horrible, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Off Colors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-29
Updated: 2019-08-29
Packaged: 2020-09-29 17:22:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20439707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/readergirl101/pseuds/readergirl101
Summary: “Maybe there’s something wrong with us,” Pearl said. “And we’re not supposed to feel this way at all.”“Do you think so? That there’s something wrong- actually something wrong- about us feeling this way?”“I don’t know. Maybe.”“No,” Ruby shook her head. “I don’t want there to be anything wrong with the way I feel about you.”





	We're here together

“That one,” Ruby pointed at one of the stars above them. “They weren’t finished colonizing so there was still all this organic stuff around. The Taaffeite I was assigned to had to go all over the place to check on things so I got to see a bunch of it-” Ruby turned, moving so she could look at Pearl instead of sitting next to her. “There was this one part of the planet- they were trying to build a communication hub but everything kept getting sucked into the ground. And there were all these flying organic things around-” Ruby held her arms out, trying to demonstrate the size. “They kept getting caught in all the equipment. It was a mess and Taaffeite was getting fracking pissed about it-”

Pearl laughed. The two of them were tucked away in the corner of a roof top, looking at whatever stars could still be seen through all the lights a smog. The place was as quiet as a place could be on Homeworld. Pearl preferred meeting here to hiding in empty closets and abandoned storerooms. Being outside made it almost feel like they didn’t have to hide at all. Almost.

“Did they get it built?” Pearl asked. It wasn’t really a question, of course it had been built, but was wonderful to see Ruby like this, so excited to talk about something that she could barely stop.

“Eventually,” Ruby said. “Taaffeite had to get a bunch of Lapis’s to get all the water out of the ground so stuff would stop sinking.” She frowned for a moment, looking back up at the stars. “That was a while ago. The flying things were still around when I got reassigned, but they probably aren’t anymore.”

Pearl sat up straight, crossing her legs and following Ruby’s gaze to the star. “It sounds nice.”

“Your turn,” Ruby took Pearl’s arm. “You gotta tell me about a planet you’ve been to.”

Pearl tore her eyes away from the sky. “I can’t. I’ve never left Homeworld.”

“Never?” Ruby frowned as Pearl nodded. “But Morganite goes off planet sometimes, doesn't she?”

“She does,” Pearl said. “But she’s never taken me. Since she’s had me the trips have all been short and I guess she thought bringing me wasn’t worth it.” Pearl shrugged. 

“So what do you do?”

“Morganite leaves me in her quarters with orders to stay put and behave myself,” Pearl said simply.

“Oh…”

“It’s not that bad,” Pearl took Ruby’s hand again. “I don’t mind it.” Not much anyway. “It’s kind of nice not having her around for a bit.” 

Ruby nodded slowly. “Can I ask you something weird?”

“Of course.”

“How do you know if something Morganite tells you to do is an Order or not?”

“It’s…” Pearl uncrossed her legs. “If she says it’s an order it is. But she doesn’t have to for it to be one.” Pearl shook her head. “I can feel it I guess. Because, if it’s an order I have to do it and if it’s not- well usually I still have to do it but it’s not… It’s not my body forcing me to do it. I don’t…” Pearl shook her head again. “We- pearls I mean, we just know, I guess. I don’t know if I can really explain it.”

“It doesn’t sound very nice,” Ruby said. “Not being able to stop yourself from doing something.” 

Pearl shrugged. “It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine.”

“Well… no it’s not.” Pearl sighed. “It… it’s annoying sometimes. Once Morganite told me to be quiet and then forgot she had said so. It was three and a half cycles before I could talk again. Morganite really isn’t that bad though,” Pearl added quickly, seeing the look on Ruby’s face. “There are worse things you can do with it.”

Ruby stared at her. “You said Morganite had stopped hitting you.”

“What? I mean- yes,” Pearl looked away. “She has. I told you she did.”

“You’re lying,” Ruby insisted. “She’s still doing it, isn’t she?”

Pearl sighed, wrapping an arm around herself. “I didn’t want you to keep worrying about me. But it hasn’t been that bad lately. Really-”

Ruby jumped to her feet, starting to burn tracks into the roof. She couldn’t take it. Worrying about being caught. Worrying about what Morganite was doing to Pearl. Feeling this way about her shouldn’t be this hard. “All of it is bad! She shouldn’t- I-”

“Ruby,” Pearl took one of Ruby’s hands in both of hers. “We talked about this. You can’t do anything.”

Ruby pulled her hand away. “I want to though. I want- I want to make sure Morganite never hurts you again and I can’t!”

“I know,” Pearl leaned back, looking up again. She smiled a little. “Maybe you could. If we could go to any planet we wanted to. If we could just take a ship and keep going and going until we were so far away from Homeworld that no one would ever find us.”

Ruby sat back down, leaning against Pearl. “We should.”

Pearl smiled, running one hand through Ruby’s hair. “We wouldn’t have to worry about getting caught sneaking away or Morganite catching us, or being shattered. We could be Rhodonite all the time because there would be no one but us around to care.” Pearl had lost track of how many times they had said that. Never seriously. There wasn’t a chance in homeworld that they ever could. But it was the most wonderful thing to think about. Being alone with just each other, but when they were Rhodonite it never felt like they were alone at all.

Ruby was silent for what felt like a very long time. “It shouldn’t be wrong for us to fuse,” Ruby said finally. 

Pearl stopped stroking Ruby’s hair, looking down at her. “What?”

“It shouldn’t be wrong for us to fuse,” Ruby repeated. “When I fuse with other Rubies, it’s nothing compared to how I feel when I fuse with you. And I can’t understand how something that feels so amazing is so bad!” 

“Maybe there’s something wrong with us,” Pearl said. “And we’re not supposed to feel this way at all.”

“Do you think so? That there’s something wrong- actually something wrong- about us feeling this way?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

“No,” Ruby shook her head. “I don’t want there to be anything wrong with the way I feel about you.”

A second later, Rhodonite wrapped her arms around herself, looking up at the stars again. 

She pointed to a star so far off it was nothing but a pinprick of light from another galaxy.

“There,” she whispered. “We-  _ I - _ should go to that one.”

**Author's Note:**

> That star is definitely Earth.  
Also I feel like I focus too much on Pearl and not enough on Ruby but. I love Pearls.


End file.
